Parc Découverte Nature unveils new $2.7 million interactive game
Yesterday morning, Parc Découverte Nature announced a new project that will be hitting the site by summer
of 2020.
In collaboration with Desjardins, Ministère des Affaires Municipales et de l’occupation du Territoire, Tourisme Cantons-de-l’est, Ville de Coaticook, MRC de Coaticook, and the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, the park’s board of directors is hoping to bring a new fun and interactive experience for tourists and Coaticook locals to enjoy.
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For those who are not familiar with Parc Découverte Nature, it is a non-profit organization located in the Coaticook Valley. Over 9,000 people visit their site annually where activities such as hiking, fishing, bird watching, tours of wetlands, exhibitions, and fish barbeques take place In the winter, their site is also open for ice fishing.
Their new project, called Acoatica, is an interactive game where visitors will take on the superhero role. The goal of the game, as explained by Parc Découverte Nature’s Director Caroline Sage, is to create the largest fish bank of one of the four species of fish that are on site. Throughout the game, participants will be faced with certain challenges, such as deforestation and overfishing, that they will have to find solutions for in order to complete their task.
It’s like a video game that you will get to play inside and outside!
With the help of Arcane Technology, a software company that works with 3D interactive technologies, the Société du Parc Découverte Nature de Baldwin will transform their present site to incorporate some of the best technology available in order to create the experience. They plan on using their existing space to create large game tables. As Sage put it, “It took five years of work and looking for partners and collaborators to make this project, WOW!.”
The project was created with the interests of both children and adults in mind to provide a day of excitement for everyone. The game will be fun and informative creating a unique experience for those visiting the area.
In attendance for the project announcement was the Marie-claude Bibeau, MP for Compton-stanstead and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, to announce an investment on part of the Canadian Government in support of tourism in the Eastern Townships.
“The government will donate $500,000 towards the $2.7 million dollar project,” explained Bibeau.
“We know how this community can be innovative and attractive. I look forward to visiting the park in less than a year from now with its immersive and gourmet experience.”
She also went on to explain why they chose to support the project. “One of the main reasons is because it’s in a rural region. It’s outside of the major centers. We want to contribute to the economy of these regions with interactive projects like this. I am confident that it will contribute to tourists staying longer in the region.”
The project, which will contribute the local development of the region in the area of tourism, has a lot of support. “It’s a big project,” explained Sage, “that we couldn’t have made possible alone.”
If you’re hoping to visit, Parc Découverte Nature is located at 2471 Chemin de Baldwin Mills-barnston, Coaticook.